𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄 | barnes¹

viii. good days

"Hey!" Steve pulled himself up, attempting to replicate Bucky's smirk. "True love story, huh? What about you and L—"

"Okay!" Bucky interrupted him, helping Lucy up as he stood. He took her hand and guided her away from where they were, turning back to Steve and mouthing, "Punk."

Steve chuckled, finally standing to catch up with them.

There was a small diner right on the boardwalk, perfect for each of their cravings. Steve wanted a hot dog, Bucky wanted a basket of fries and a strawberry milkshake, and Lucy wanted a chocolate milkshake. When their server brought the food over, they all dug into their snacks.

Bucky shamelessly stared as Lucy plucked the cherry off, letting it sit between her plump lips for a moment before chewing it. She held the stem in her hands, twirling it before looking at Bucky and Steve. "You think that I can tie this in a knot with my tongue?"

Bucky leaned forward. "I'd like to see you try."

"I'll be impressed if you can," Steve added, speaking through a bite of his food.

Once she was done chewing the remnants of the Maraschino cherry, Lucy placed the stem on her tongue and pushed it up to the roof of her mouth. She kept her lips pursed while biting down on the stem, folding it in half, and crossing both ends over each other. After a little bit of struggle, she was able to push one tip of the stem through the loop.

When she displayed the stem between her teeth and tightened the knot using her fingers, Bucky swore that his jaw was on the floor.

Bucky hurriedly took his own cherry off the top of his whipped cream and handed it right to the girl in front of him. "Do it again."

She followed Bucky's instructions, biting the cherry off while the stem was still in his hand.

She easily tied it in a knot, even faster than she had with the first one. Bucky bit his lip, cursing himself for being wrapped around her finger.

At least he was self-aware.

After they were done eating, the teenagers surveyed the rest of the pier. "Let's go over to the milk bottle toss," Bucky suggested, insistent on playing the game.

"Buck," Steve started. "Those games are all rigged, pal."

"Wanna bet?" He led them over, offering the man running the game some money in exchange for three balls. Bucky tossed one up in the air, looking back at Lucy as he caught it.

He pointed to the array of stuffed animals behind them. "Which one do you want, Luce?"

Lucy just shook her head, laughing with Steve at Bucky's determination. "I don't need anything, Buck."

"Okay," he paused. "But I'm gonna win one so you might as well pick."

Lucy gave in, playfully rolling her eyes. "The brown stuffed bear is cute, but only one game. Okay?"

Bucky gave both of his best friends a thumbs up, turning around and focusing his stare on the glass bottles. "Got it. Crystal clear."

Steve leaned over to Lucy, whispering under his breath to her, "He's not gonna stop until he gets that bear, I hope you know." Lucy knocked her own shoulder against Steve's as they watched Bucky fail horribly at hitting the bottles.

Bucky ended up spending three dollars to win Lucy the bear, regardless of all the times that Steve and Lucy told him to stop.

He handed it to her with a victorious smirk on his face. "Here you go, this is your graduation present."

Lucy was unable to contain her smile, giving Bucky a grateful kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

Bucky shrugged, acting nonchalant. "Piece of cake."